by Bonnar King
“My name’s Nicholas Chambers. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I gave him a slow smile, the same one I used on all omegas I wanted to seduce. I often knew the effect of it, especially when omegas all but melted at the mere sight. If they didn’t melt, then they blushed or giggled, then flirted right after.
To my surprise, Robin didn’t do any of those things. He merely nodded his head, like my name didn’t mean anything, and began to direct me in a smoky-sweet tone toward my destination.
I didn’t know why, but I felt there was something off with the tone. It somehow didn’t match my expectations of him, for some reason. I dismissed the thought when I got in the director’s office, where I was greeted by David Jones with a handshake before I was ushered into a seat. I raised a brow when Robin also got in and sat on the opposite chair. Because of our unusual heights, and therefore longer legs, our knees almost brushed—something he seemed to be aware of as he shifted in his seat and pulled himself back. He didn’t say anything, and it was David who spoke first.
“I’m glad you could come on such short notice, Mr. Chambers,” he half-gushed, half-said politely.
“Nicholas,” I corrected. “Let’s not be too formal, Mr. Jones.”
David nodded his head. “Then call me David. I thought you usually send your secretary for discussions like this.”
I waved a hand. “He’s busy handling my other deal right now. And I wanted to see the area myself.” And it was just my luck, because on top of the said area being a favorable spot for a new apartment, I had the added bonus of seeing this quiet omega in front of me.
While David and I made monetary and scheduling negotiations, I watched Robin from the corner of my eye.
What I initially thought was calmness was incorrect. Robin Olsen kept fidgeting in his seat—his hand fisting on his lap from time to time, his fingers sliding down to the side to tap his outer thigh, then playing with the buttons of his shirt. The last action distracted me as I imagined my own hands unbuttoning that horrible shirt and parting it to see what was underneath. God, his body looked fantastic up-close, and I could see the hint of light chest hair underneath.
Robin caught me looking at what his fingers were doing. They stilled immediately, much to my imagination’s regret. I could still see them in my mind. But then he crossed his legs, and I was treated to the sight of the hem of his pants shifting up to expose long legs.
Legs I wanted pinned on my shoulders as I pounded inside him repeatedly.
Suddenly I was hard as iron and turning harder by the second. Shit. What was it with this omega?
It had to be the hot-nerd, librarian look. I never really took notice of librarians in the past, but this omega…his combination of nerdy and mysterious just did it for me and made me think sexy, naughty thoughts. I never went after geeky types in the past, always preferring sensual and worldly omegas…but whoever this Robin was, he had a sensuality that was all his own. An innocent kind.
I wanted to strip him down and see what was beneath all that strict, stiff façade.
I wanted to fuck him raw.
Now it was me shifting in my seat, trying to hide my rock-hard erection.
Maybe I could test the waters. I just needed to charm my way into his pants later after this meeting. While his earlier reaction to my smile wasn’t favorable, I knew I could turn him around.
No one rejected Nicholas Chambers—certainly not this hot librarian with his banging body and mouth made to wrap around cocks.
Mine, hopefully.
Of course, I still wondered why he was in the meeting with us and why he seemed nervous. Just as I thought I was going to wonder until the very end, I found the answer to my question when he suddenly raised his hand—just as David finally agreed to a value I spouted off and I informed him a demolishing team would be coming over to do their job in a few weeks.
I raised a brow again, watching the director’s frozen look and Robin’s determined one.
“Yes?” I asked.
Robin smiled again, showing off the freckle. I thought he was going to say something pleasant. His innocent looks certainly backed up that assumption.
Imagine my surprise when he suddenly dropped the smile and stared at me in what could only be accusation, piercing me with those blue eyes.
Then he went in for the kill.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Chambers, for turning a wonderful community establishment into the entertainment center of a greedy, vile, pompous creature.”
3
Robin
I had been planning to keep it calm and professional from the very beginning, really. I had even assured David that I would, confident I could charm my way into getting Mr. Chambers to agree with me.
But as they kept discussing money and I could see the businessman’s expression, which indicated he couldn’t care less and was impatient to just get the deal done, something inside me threatened to come undone. Then he mentioned the demolition teams, and something inside me snapped.
Before I knew it, I was saying the words that I reminded myself not to say earlier.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Chambers, for turning a wonderful property like this one into the entertainment center of a greedy, vile, pompous creature.”
Drat. Drat, drat, drat. It came off harsher than I intended. How unprofessional of me!
But to my surprise, the alpha I just spouted the words off to didn’t look the least bit offended. In fact, was that amusement glinting in his gray eyes?
Gorgeous eyes.
Well, fine. Everything about him was gorgeous. But that was beside the point.
“Are you referring to me, Mr. Olsen?”
His voice was silky smooth, but rough around the edges. And his gaze? It reminded me of a predator looking at its prey, waiting for its chance to attack. A part of me was uncomfortable with such a direct stare.
Another part of me felt some sort of stirring in my belly…and that annoyed me.
I let him see that annoyed look, leaning forward. Perhaps that was a mistake, especially when I saw his gaze fall to my chest, his mouth opening slightly. My breath caught in my throat when I realized that a slight move on his part would have our bodies brushing.
The thought alarmed me so much that I straightened back up in a flash. The left side of his mouth quirked, and again, it looked like he was amused. But it didn’t look amused in a good way. Was he making fun of me?
I lifted my chin up.
“Who else would I be referring to?” I asked in response. There was no backing out now, because I could tell he wasn’t dumb. But maybe there was a way to tone it down a bit and appeal to his human side. “Mr. Chambers, I understand your business is important to you, but please consider what will happen to the town if you destroy this library.”
“Enlighten me. What will happen?”
“My co-workers will lose their jobs. The small but wonderful community we have will lose the one place where they could get free education. This is a place of learning, Mr. Chambers, and the value of teaching people and helping them read as much as we could is priceless. It simply can’t be bought.”
He kept looking at me, his gaze unreadable. I remembered just a few minutes ago when I was researching about him and saw a gorgeous alpha in pictures. Charles had been right when he said he had a different omega in his arm in almost every photo and exuded an aura that was powerfully masculine.
But nothing had prepared me for the impact of seeing him in the flesh.
He was attractive as hell, exuding that masculine aura two-fold—no, ten-fold—in person. He was just so…virile-looking, with that jet-black hair that fell in soft waves and looked so thick, and those gray eyes that reminded me of storm clouds. There was something hidden in those storm clouds, something powerful and not be messed with. He had a firm yet sensual mouth and a chiseled jaw line, which I had a feeling would look good with a five o’clock shadow.
Then there was that long, hard body. I was a
tall omega, and to see him towering over me and making me feel small. I just wanted to crumble at the sight of him…my God.
Being an alpha this hot should be illegal.
But his attractiveness didn’t change the fact that he was a probably a player and didn’t give omegas like me the time of the day. I was used to alphas like him who barely gave me a second glance. But I needed him, and so I did my best to look like a pleading puppy by widening my eyes and looking as pleasant and cajoling as possible. It often worked on my co-workers when I had a favor I needed to ask, and even David wasn’t immune.
But Mr. Chambers merely looked at me with that same unreadable gaze, and the next words out of his mouth pretty much had me reeling in shock all over again.
“You should really stop wasting my time,” he replied. “I’ve got better things to do than worry about your…townspeople.” He turned to David. “Thank you for your time, David. I’ll have my lawyers prepare the papers and sent to you as soon as they’re ready.”
And with that, he stood up and was gone before I could even so much as blink.
I stared at David, who looked guilty and disapproving at the same time. He opened his mouth, then closed it back as if he changed his mind. I wasn’t about to wait around for whatever he had to say, because he already knew my opinion on the matter.
Instead, I stood up, too, and walked as fast as I could out of the office.
Mr. Chambers’ long legs equaled long strides, so it was a bit hard to catch up to him. When it felt like I was going to trip on my dress shoes if I resorted to running down the stairs, I called out his last name. He paused, and I kept walking. Then he turned around just as I was a step above him on the stairs, which put my gaze at level with his firm, sensual mouth. Oh, boy. I tried to ignore it and looked up.
Big mistake.
His eyes were grayer than ever and pinned me in place, and I almost forgot what I was supposed to say. I wasn’t a hypocrite, and I wasn’t going to deny that I was having serious flutters in my stomach now just at the sight of him. It was inconvenient and just slightly irritating, but it was there.
But he didn’t need to know that, and I was going to do my best not to show anyone.
Especially him.
“Well?” he asked, a hint of impatience in his tone. It was also slightly sarcastic, which had my back straightening again in defense.
“Don’t you think you’re being too hasty?” I began.
“Hasty?”
“Purchasing a place and dismissing it without even checking it out fully? I could give you a grand tour…”
“A grand tour, huh?” His voice lowered at that, and my breath caught in my throat. Suddenly my mouth was too dry to speak as our eyes met. Clashed. “What kind of…tour?”
The insinuation was clear, and my eyes widened in response. Then I was glaring at him hard even while my body reacted out of its own accord, tingles spreading from head to toe. Oh, God.
Not only was he ruthless and greedy—he was also apparently a flirt in the worse situation ever.
“A professional tour,” I clipped out. “So you can see how useful and valuable this library is and how not closing it down would be beneficial to everyone. I—”
“Again, Mr. Olsen—Robin—you’re wasting my time. Good day to you.”
And then he walked out on me.
Frustration slammed inside me at how coldly I was dismissed. I was used to being dismissed, but that didn’t mean I was going down without a fight. I mean, seriously? When I hadn’t even completed my point to him? And to emphasize my first name like that, like we were intimate? Of all the arrogant, vile, idiotic—
“Mr. Chambers!” I blurted out. He was already near the door and now I was running, cursing under my breath along the way. When it didn’t look like he was going to give me the time of the day anymore, I made a last second attempt to catch his attention.
I grabbed at the sleeve of his coat. Hard.
I might as well have grabbed on to air for all the budging he did. But he did stop, which was enough, though he didn’t turn his head yet. Before he could snub me again, I spoke out first.
“What do I need to do to get you to see our side and reconsider?”
Silence.
Finally, he turned to look at me, then at the hand I had on him. He didn’t look angry, but I was so intimidated that it took all my willpower not to remove my hand too quickly as if burned. I stayed where I was and met his stare head on, gently taking back my hand.
“You can start by calling me Nick,” he said.
That was…doable. But I remembered him asking David to call him Nicholas…
Those gray eyes observed my reaction and seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. I nodded my head quickly. “Nick. Okay, then. If that’s all—”
“I’m not finished,” he cut off coolly.
I clamped my mouth shut and refrained from cursing out loud now.
“There is one more thing that might make me reconsider.”
I leaned forward, anticipation seeping in my bones.
But his next words had the anticipation turning into shock.
“You can go out with me.”
Was he asking me out on a date?
“Are you asking me out on a date?” I asked incredulously.
He stepped closer. I took a step back. I was so aware of his presence that it was difficult to look him in the eye—yet at the same time, it was so difficult to look away.
“What do you think?” he asked huskily.
“But…I don’t…”
“You should think about it,” he said simply. “We can talk about negotiations on the date.”
His gaze drifted down to my lips at the word negotiation, and it was all I could do not to take a step back again. My body responded in the most primitive way, but my mind…my mind was rebelling against the idea.
Go on a date with the enemy?
It was insane. It was inconceivable, and I’d be stupid to think he was actually interested in getting to know me. Maybe he was playing me.
But the look in his eyes didn’t seem like he was kidding.
I cleared my throat. Now that gaze drifted down there, focusing on my skin above the shirt, and I felt myself getting hot.
“I’ll think about it,” I managed to say.
“Think fast and hard,” was his only response. Then he was walking out for good.
I stared at his back for a long time, trying not to notice his hard body and ass, and trying to keep my wits about me.
What did I just get myself into?
4
Nicholas
“Here are the reports you asked for, Mr. Chambers.”
I thanked my secretary and waited for him to leave the room. Then I stared at the paper in front of my desk, picking it up and turning the pages slowly.
Ever since that fateful encounter I had with Robin Olsen, I just couldn’t stop thinking about him. He was on my mind for three days straight, and it irritated me enough to actually go out with some of the omegas who invited me out—a businessman that I had an investment transaction with and a supermodel that was part of our latest luxury apartment’s campaign ad. It was pointless because they both bored the hell out of me, and I found that there was only one person I wanted to go out with now: and that was none other than Robin.
I turned it over in my mind every night, then deduced that it probably had to do with the librarian thing. I had never met a librarian who was that feisty before, and it made me wonder what was going on underneath all that hot little ball of spirit. It was obvious he was passionate about his work and loved it very much, along with the public library that he just couldn’t stop talking about.
Not many people stood up to me when I was trying to get what I wanted, but he did it with surprising gusto twice—first, when he contradicted me about the library and sort of insulted my business, and second when he didn’t say yes right away to my invitation for a date. I wasn’t used to people rejecting me that easily.
<
br /> I didn’t like that at all.
But he didn’t exactly reject me, and he still had time to make amends. I could wait it out for about a week before counting it a loss and proceeding with the library transaction.
Not that I changed my mind about that, or that I was going to let him change my mind about that. But my want to get under his skin surpassed my want to get the transaction done quickly, so I was going to use it as bait.
I was a hard ass, and I didn’t care. It worked for me.
I read up on the library matter as fast as I could, skimming some parts. Basically, it had been open to the public for so long now and generally got its funding from public and government sources, like charity and taxes. But even with that, it barely got by, and I read up on all the fundraising activities that the workers did just to get by. There were also pay cuts, and a massive resignation from people who couldn’t afford the low salary. That left the library with only four employees now, including Robin who was the librarian manager.
Now, the government had decided to cut the library’s access to taxes, too, which meant not even fundraising campaigns could get it up. The board was going to close it down whether the employees liked it or not, and the board gave them one to two months to get a buyer for it—otherwise it was the board who was going to buy it for their own agenda. For some reason, no one liked that, and an announcement had been made that kept me interested enough to consider the place. The location was perfect for my plan to build a high-rise luxury apartment in a town like this one, which was just half an hour away from the city proper. I could already envision the occupants to be those celebrities and businessmen who wanted to keep their privacy intact, and I wanted it to be the perfect place for their needs and wants.
After reading up on the library, I then read up about Robin. My secretary had gathered enough information for me to piece what he was all about. He graduated from college a year early and had started as an intern in the library to pay his college loans. It was initially a temporary job, but for some reason, he stayed even after he already graduated. Now, six years later, he was still there. His transcript reports in school showed he was a very smart omega with great marks and a lot of job offers.